CBU Library Presents: The Green Book, A Play by Juanita Peters

Playwright Juanita Peters is bring a dramatic reading and workshop of her acclaimed play The Green Book to CBU campus this February in celebration of African Heritage Month 2017. “The Negro Motorist Green Book — also called The Negro Travelers’ Green Book or The Travelers’ Green Book — was published by a black postal worker named Victor Green from 1936 to 1964.

The travel guide provided black tourists in the U.S. with the necessary information to be able to buy food and supplies, use the bathroom, or find a place to spend the night — safely. The Green Book tells the story of a couple from Weymouth Falls, N.S., who travel along Route 66 to Los Angeles to visit family in the 1950s.

The story addresses the long-term effects of racism, she said, and the main character suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to his experiences.

“We like to associate that condition with war,” Peters said. “Well, this is a different type of war.” The play and workshop will be held in the Centre for Sound Communities with the event being livestreamed simultaneously to several other university campuses in the Maritimes. There is no charge for admission and all are welcome! African food and other refreshments will be served.